Aparna Sreenivasan: The right to education

Someone once told me that "you should beg, borrow or steal to own your own home." That was at the height of the housing boom, when it seemed like there would be a time when middle class people would someday not be able to afford a home in Monterey County. Luckily, I didn't have to do any of those things to buy my house. I just bought where I could afford, up on the hill in sunny Seaside.

I live in a wonderful little neighborhood. People care for their houses. Kids play at our neighborhood park. We can ride our bikes to work. It's wonderful. Except for the schools. Our neighborhood school is ranked as one of the lowest-performing schools in California, according to the state Department of Education website, which makes it one of the lowest-performing schools in America.

There is no science instruction. There is no Gifted and Talented Educational program, and there isn't enough money to support the teachers and the children. I call this social injustice. The people of Seaside are caring people who love their children, but they don't have a strong public school option in their community. And many people in my neighborhood who have more than one child just can't afford the cost of private school.

I will do anything to provide my child with a strong education and foundation. As an assistant professor and a lifelong learner, education is my No. 1 priority. My husband and I needed an educational option for our family. We could not sell our house and move to Carmel, as so many others are doing, because of the tanked home prices. We were 91st on the wait list for the other charter school in the area, and couldn't afford the private school costs. We tried to get on boards, to transfer, to move, but nothing panned out.

While working on all of these options, I also began working with a core group of parents to start a new charter school, Bay View Academy. I first got involved for purely selfish reasons: I needed a safe, free place for my child to go to school. And I needed a strong curriculum with science and art. I needed a great after-school care program, and a place where my child would thrive as a learner. I told myself that I didn't care how much time I put in, it was worth it for my child. And being a part of the founding team was a way to really support my child's education, and make sure that the educational program was strong.

But then something happened. In my mind, the school stopped being just about a place to send my child, but another option for all of those other families in Seaside, Marina and Monterey — indeed the whole county, who didn't have a good option. It became, as a teacher in one of our meetings recently said, "hope" for our community.

I'm not going to talk about the politics or the lack of vision of the school district on the Peninsula. That has been discussed enough. However, for the past two years, finding a place for my child to attend school has consumed me to a point of emotional distress. And in my mind I know that this is not the end of the road for us, as this charter is only a K-5, and we will eventually have to move to another district if we want our son to continue attending public school. Or we will send him to one of the excellent private schools in the area. I am lucky, I have those choices. As a dual-income family, we can bypass the social injustice and provide our child with what he needs. We don't have to send him to the broken district in which we live.

I have worked with Bay View Academy board members and put in countless hours on top of my regular 40-to-50-hour workweeks. I have watched my colleagues sacrifice their health and time. I have watched them fight battles and overcome obstacles placed in front of them by people who put politics and money before the well-being of children and a community.

But around me are people who just don't have the extra time to put into a new developing charter school. There are families who are stuck in a failing school district because of socioeconomic issues. And others that just don't know that there are other options. It is because of this social injustice that so many children may already be doomed to a lifetime of "catching up."

No, I didn't have to beg, borrow or steal to buy a home seven years ago. But I would have for my child's education. Unlike so many other things in life, no one can take away your education. It is not something that decreases in value, or flips upside down, or can be stolen. But not everyone can fight this battle; they are too busy just surviving. Education should be a fundamental right, not something that only goes to the privileged few who have the time and/or money to get it. But that is where our community is headed. And from what I see, we may already be there.

Aparna Sreenivasan is a science writer and an assistant professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at CSU Monterey Bay.